Querrey is a promising student in his loss to Cilic

Almost 200 minutes into one of those Wimbledon matches that meander toward darkness and feature raucous patrons who just might have had, you know, a sip, the Thousand Oaks tower prepared to serve at 4-5 in a fifth set.

Sam Querrey walked along behind the baseline holding tennis balls while the Centre Court fans finished doing the globally deathless scourge known as “The Wave,” their joy swelling when some dignitaries in the Royal Box joined in. Once they hushed, the 21-year-old from Southern California tried to hang in at 8:46 p.m. in only the second fifth set of his lifetime.

Five points later, it would become another lesson in the patchy development of the 6-foot-6 Querrey, ranked No. 47. He would answer a fine approach shot with one last backhand long, and No. 13 Marin Cilic would fall to his knees after his 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 win, and Querrey would walk to the net with the mournful steps of a zombie.

“I was bummed,” he said. “I wanted that one.”

Still, the late bloomer with the normal childhood made it to his first Wimbledon second round on his third Wimbledon try, during which he gathered some wisdom for the next such challenge as the U.S. tries to construct a stout new generation. He had felt privileged.

“It’s great when the crowd gets rowdy,” he said at dusk of another frenetic day at Wimbledon. “I think tennis would become more popular if people were just drunk all the time.”

Then he added soberly, “I had a great time. Not many people get a chance to play on Centre Court at Wimbledon.”

Wednesday had been another long slate of tennis psychodrama on Centre Court, one that far exceeded the haste on the other main court, Court No. 1. Over there, Serena Williams looked very, very serious about this in blazing through the perfectly capable Jarmila Groth of Australia by 6-2, 6-1. Michael Llodra of France had chased a ball so hard he went slamming into the umpire’s chair and fell upon a ball girl.

He helped up the ball girl and hugged her, but he had to retire at 4-3 in the first set against Tommy Haas.

By the time Querrey and Cilic went out back on Centre, anyone with endurance and a ticket already had seen Maria Sharapova scrape for two hours 13 minutes with No. 46-ranked Gisela Dulko of Argentina, with Dulko prevailing, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, to limited Sharapovan dismay given her 10-month layoff after shoulder surgery.

The elegant lawn mower of Centre Court, Roger Federer, had torn through and torn up another foe, then Querrey entered with Cilic, 20, for a youth fest. Querrey marched to a 6-4, 5-2 lead as Cilic just tried to concoct some way to break Querrey’s leveraged serve.

He finally did, and as he won the second-set tiebreaker and ran on momentum through the third, the U.S. male Wimbledon experience of 2009 intensified.

Among the 14 entries, No. 17 James Blake went out in the first round. Jesse Levine beat Marat Safin and found it “surreal.” Robby Ginepri lost to Lleyton Hewitt, No. 25 Mardy Fish advanced to a third round and said, “I feel great,” and the comebacking Taylor Dent from Newport Beach scrapped through qualifying and then two days and five sets with Daniel Gimeno-Traver of Spain before falling.

Andy Roddick remained more than viable.

Querrey, the promising fourth-rounder at the 2008 U.S. Open, could pile on extra intrigue, but he thought he outthought himself in the last service game, serving wide on the deuce court when he much prefers serving to the “T.”

“I think he has good potential,” Cilic said, “and when he makes the break” -- more yearlong consistency -- “he’s going to fit easier and he’s going to get more confidence.”

On Wednesday, Querrey tightened, missed four of five first serves in that last game and chipped in a groaning double fault.

He also gathered another tutorial on a tour that presents many, if few this distinctive.

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chuck.culpepper@yahoo.com